Tag Archives: monica lewinsky

Most Americans have the opportunity to make mistakes and move on. The exploits of youth are allowed to be a part of the past, but if you are Monica Lewinsky you are not given that privilege. She will forever be associated with President Bill Clinton. She is the one he declared to the world that he had never had sex with that woman. She was victimized by the press in the “90s and now she is quickly become the political football of the 2016 campaign, but is this fair? Should the sins of Bill Clinton be used against Hillary Clinton? Lewinsky was a young woman when she had an affair with Clinton. He has been able to move forward and be regarded as an elder statesman. He has had the opportunity for his life to move forward, but she is forever trapped in the role of a young vixen. Donald Trump and his spokespeople have openly discussed bringing up Lewinsky. Will Lewinsky ever be released from her past or will this affair haunt her to the grave? Share your thoughts.

Former President Clinton has moved so far beyond the Monica Lewinsky scandal that he can not even see it in his rear view mirror. Clinton is an elder statesman. He has a Foundation and a Global Initiative. He has a wife who will soon be running for president. Since leaving the White House she has been a Senator and Secretary of State. They have both done very well, but what about Monica Lewinsky? To the Clintons she is a footnote, a hiccup, a nuisance, but in reality she is a person. She was a young woman who made the mistake of falling in love with the most powerful man on earth at the time, and for that act she was crucified by the press and members of the government. She was called everything but a child of God. She was left for dead, but she did not die and she has now decided to step up to the microphone and share her story, but some think her timing is suspect. Why now? How will this effect Hillary? Why should she care? This is her story and she does not have to receive an affirmation from the Clintons to share it. Back in the ’90s she was lampooned by comediennes, and now some of them are ashamed of what they said about this young woman. They are now getting the opportunity to see her humanity. She is not bearing her wounds she is sharing her narrative. It might be painful to some and not politically expedient to others but Lewinsky gets to choose her time and she has chosen now.

Over the last few days the media has taken their shots at Monica Lewinsky. We all know she is the intern that had an affair with President Clinton. Clinton has moved on from the scandal and he now resides in rarified air. His wife the woman scorned has gone on to a glorious political career that includes a stint in the Senate, Secretary of State and now a contender for the 2016 presidency. They both have thrived while Lewinsky languished on the sidelines. Now Lewinsky has the audacity to step out of oblivion and tell her own story and she gets a media beat down. This morning I was listening to the tom Joyner Morning Show and CNN/TJMS contributor Don Lemon offered his two cents and he blamed Lewinsky for not creating her own narrative. He contends the Clintons did that and that’s why they have been able to move on. Really? That’s the difference. We all know Lewinsky was 25 years old and that is chronologically a grown woman, but 25 is not what it used to be. Lemon said 25 year olds are mothers and mortgage owners…no they are not. They are recent college graduates trying to navigate life. I can remember being 25 and being impressed when I met the CEO of the company I worked for. So the thought of the most powerful man in the world at the time paying attention to an intern had to be intoxicating. No, she should not have had an affair with president, but should she have pay for her mistake the rest of her days on earth? He’s not paying for this one anymore. He is the Lazarus of politics. He has risen and she gets push back for attempting to stand up. Mrs. Clinton has moved on and she has her eye on the White House, and the media is still taking cheap shots at Lewinsky. She didn’t kill the president. She made a big mistake but isn’t she entitled to a comeback? We claim to be the country of second chances. Well if that is true why do so many people want to deny her a second chance? Share your thoughts.

Monica Lewinsky’s name is back in the news. One of Hillary Clinton’s best friend’s personal papers were property of the University of Arkansas are now fodder for some conservative outlets. This morning on The View Barbara Walters was attempting to make a point about Lewinsky, but Sherri Shepard took the opportunity to slip in a cigar joke. Lewinsky will always be a punchline and that is sad. Bill Clinton is now revered in the Democratic party. He is friends with the Bush Family, he is close to the current president and he has the Bill Clinton Global Initiative that draws the great minds of the world, but he is also a president who took advantage of an intern. He has been able to wash the stench of the affair off of him, but she has not been as lucky. What truly galls me is when women take potshots at her. She is somebody’s daughter. No she was not a minor but she was seduced by a very powerful man: The President of the United States. It’s been almost 20 years but people still giggle at the sound of her name and they salute the sound of his, and while that’s not fair, but it is life.

Yesterday I tweeted CBS The Talk and my tweet was read on air. The question was a boader discussion of the Petraeus affair. Who fares worse in an affair the man or the woman. I referenced President Clinton. He is now an elder statesman, a sought after world renoun speaker, and Monica Lewinsky can not get a job. Is this fair? Share your thoughts.

This morning on Meet the Press the discussion was surrounding David Patraeus’ resignation. The discussion eventually centered around why powerful men succumb and jeopardize their careers. One of the round table participants was presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. She was the only woman panelist and she started rattling off a list of women who had made a powerful man stumble. I was shocked when she said “Monica Lewinsky derailed” President Clinton for a while. Clinton was the president “the most powerful man in the Western world”, and Lewinsky was an intern, and she derailed him? Clinton is revered in most circle and lewinsky can’t get a job. Who got derailed? I think Goodwin’s statement was even more stinging because she was the only woman on the panel, and she was effectively woman bashing.